Steeping press



Dec. 20, 1955 w. L. SMITH 2,727,459

STEEPING PRESS Filed June 9, 1949 INVENTOR.

WILLIAM L. \SMITH A TTORNE Y United States Patent STEEPING PRESS William L. Smith, Concord Township, Delaware County,

Pa., assignor to American Viscose Corporation, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application June 9, 1949, Serial No. 98,000 13 Claims. (Cl. 100199) This invention relates to improvements in horizontalacting plate type presses such as typified by cellulose steeping presses used in the manufacturing of viscose rayon.

in one of the prevalent types of presses presently used for steeping cellulose pulp sheets, the sheets are stood on edge in a rectangular open-top tank between a plurality of spaced elevator plates which may be grooved, corrugated and/or forarninous. The pulp sheets are steeped in caustic soda solution for a period and then the solution is drained from the tank. With the tank remaining in connection with the drain a ram or platen traverses the tank in a direction normal to the alignment of the separators and the sheet pulp to press the sheets to extract a desired quantity of liquid therefrom. The ram is retracted and the pulp is manually lifted from the press as the plates and the pressed pulp included therebetween are progressively separated.

The press is loaded again by progressively placing therein uniform groups of pulp sheets in alternate arrangement with the plates. The pulp sheets are loosely supported on edge between the plates so that as the level of the steeping solution rises within the tank it readily passes between and rapidly penetrates the sheets to forestall any tendency of the sheet to temporarily float and thus drift out of the desired alignment. It is desired that the pulp sheets have great uniformity in shape so that they may be placed into the press and retained therein during subsequent treatment with such evenness that their edges along any side of the sheets present or develop substantially flat or even surfaces. Unevenness in the edges of adjacent sheets is to be avoided, if possibe, because such edges, when they project beyond the edges of adjacent sheets, are not subjected to the full platen pressure, consequently, these edges are inadequately pressed and contain an excessive amount of caustic soda solution.

It is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus for steeping or otherwise treating and pressing liquid-permeable sheet materials with less expenditure of labor and time for loading and unloading the apparatus. it is also an object of the invention to provide apparatus for spacing the separator plates which divide the material to be treated. It is still another object of the invention to provide apparatus for positioning the material to be treated in even alignment within a press in a direction longitudinal of the press. Still another object is to provide apparatus for separating the plates in one operation from the press material after a pressing operation and removing all the press material in a body from the apparatus. Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention and the drawing relating thereto in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view as obtained by removal of a lateral wall of a press frame illustrating a feature of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial longitudinal sectional view as obtained by removal of a lateral Wall of the press frame illustrating the load-removing means of the invention;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a removable portion of the press illustrated in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view, with parts exploded for better illustration, of one of the separator plate positioning means;

Fig. 5 is an end view partly in section of the apparatus illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of a device for spacing separator plates and laterally positioning the material to be treated; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a modified device for spacing separator plates and positioning the material to be treated.

In brief, the invention comprises an improved apparatus for steeping or otherwise treating cellulose pulp or other liquid permeable sheet material embodying mechanism for spacing the plates which separate the groups of the pulp sheets, and which laterally positions the sheets within a press chamber, said mechanism being applicable to the plates and the groups of sheets either separately or to all of the plates and groups simultaneously; the apparatus including also an elevator for removing the plates from the sheets after the pressing thereof, and a removable holder or pallet normally seated in the portion of the chamber defined by the frame 28 for receiving the pressed material.

Figs. 1, 4 and 5 illustrate a plate-spacing device which comprises a shaft 9 rotatably supported within bearings 11 and 12 and plate holding members 14 spaced along the shaft 9 at distances corresponding to a desired spacing of the plates 15. These plates function in the conventional manner and are of a construction such as found in a conventional plate and frame press wherein the liquid is drained by the plates during a pressing operation from interiorly of the press load. The members 14 are restricted to the required spacing by pins 17 which extend into the shaft from one side only. The pins 17 work within a slot 18 extending circumferentially within the hub portion of each of the members 14. It will be noted from Fig. 4 that the slot 18 does not extend completely through 360 of the hub portions 29 and 21 of the member 14 but is limited by the ends 22 and 23 of the slot which are augularly spaced as shown by an angle greater than 180. If the elements 14 are in the position in which they hold the plates 15 in spaced relationship as illustrated in Fig. 1, the shaft 9 may be rotated in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 5 by a wrench or handle 24 to lift the members 14 from theposition in which they engage the plates to the position shown in broken outline in Fig. 5. Rotation of the members does not occur when the pin 17 moves withinthe slot 18 during rotation of the shaft 9 relative to the members 14 until the end of the slot 22 is engaged; if the shaft is rotated further, rotation of the elements 14 results. The members 14 are rotated out of engagement with the separator plates 15 and the pulp 39 before the ram or platen 26 is moved endwise through the press frame 28, to prevent damage to the members.

In loading the press, the ram 26 is completely retracted toward the left as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2 and the plates 15 and the sheet material 30 are progressively placed into the press starting in the space near the platen 26. While loading the press, each plate 15 is brought into and fixed in its proper position by having an element 14 of the plate spacing device of the invention brought into engagement with the plate. The elements hold the plates during the pulp is subjected. So that an element 14 may be rotated into engagement with each plate as it is placed into the compartment of the press, the shaft 9 is rotated to the position wherein the pin 17 takes an alignment relative to the plate substantially as shown in Fig. 4. In' this alignment of the pin 17, the members 14 may be supported approximately in the angle shown in ghost outline in Fig. 5. As each plate 15 is placed in position, its corresponding member 14 may be manually flipped or dropped into engagement with the plate; it turns freely upon the shaft 9 Within the freedom of rotation permitted by movement of its slotted hub portion 21 relative to the pin 17. The members 14 may be provided in any number and spacing desired on the shaft 9 to accommodate any number of plates which may be inserted between groups of pulp sheets to facilitate escape of liquid from the press toward the lateral walls of the press chamber during the pressing operation. The plates 15 may be supported in an upright position within the press solely by the spacing elements 14 or, as shown in Fig. 5, by L shaped rails 29 atached to opposite lateral inside surfaces of the frame 28'and side appendages 31 of the plates 15 which rest on the rails.

In Fig. 6 is shown a modification of a plate holder which may be used also as a guide for laterally positioning sheet material which may be placed in a press between separator plates. The entire charge of sheet material placed in the press is laterally positioned against the plates from one end of the press to the other by a series of slotted plate members 33 which extend end to end longitudinally within the press along the upper margin of oneside of the region occupied by the pulp material. The slots 32 are spaced according to a desired spacing of the plates 15.

The plate members 33 are supported on separately rotatable arms 34 each of which has a hub portion 35 surrounding a shaft 37. The movement of each arm 34 may be controlled by a pin-slot arrangement similar to that shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5 with respect to the member 14 and in the same manner. shown in Fig. 6, extends radially through a slot 41 provided in the hub portion 35.

However, in using a device which positions the pulp sheets as well as spaces the plates 15, it is desirable to have the pivotal axis of the supporting arm 34 positioned so that the plates may swing or rotate out of engagement with the pulp separating plates and the pulp without moving or disturbing the pulp. Accordingly, the pivotal axis of the shaft 37 extends along the side of the tank wall 39 rather than along its top edge 40 in the manner permissible for the device described with respect to Figs; 1, 4 and 5. The pivotal axis is positioned preferably at a level as low as the lower edge of the plates 33 or approximately in a plane which passes through the lower edges of the plates 33 normal to the plane or surface formed by the side edges of the pulp sheets. The axis of rotation of the shaft 37, being thus lowered with respect to the top of the tank, permits the plate 33 to swing upwardly and away from the sheet material, avoiding interference with the sheet material which might occur if the axis extended along the top edge of the wall 39. As in the previously described device of Fig. 4, the plates 33 are rotated out of engagement with the separator plates and the sheet material before subjecting the plates and the sheet material to compression in the manner heretofore described.

In Fig. 7 is shown still another arrangement for positioning the pulp or other material with respect to the interior side surfaces of the press and the separator plates. Since a separately swingable plate-spacingmember which holds a single separator plate may in some instances be preferred to a member which engages several plates simultaneously such as shown in Fig. 6, an element 65 and a supporting arm 66 therefor such as shown in Fig. 7 may be used. The geometrical interrelationships of the element 65, the arm 66, and a shaft (not shown) extending The pin 38, as

through the hub portion 67 may be similar to those of the plate member 33, the arm 34'an'd the shaft 37 of Fig. 6. The hub portion 67 is slotted similarly to the hub portion 35 of Fig. 6 for extension thereinto of a pin anchored within the support shaft for the arms 66. The elements 65 are provided with slots 69adapted to fit around the upper edges of the separator plates of the press, and with wings 70 extending from either side of the slots so as to bear against the interrupted alignedsurfaces of the pulp sheets to obtain alignment of the edges thereof. The abutting surfaces of the wings of adjacent elements 65 extend on a complementary bias so that when the elements are in the plate holding'position, the pulp aligning surfaces of the elements 65 overlap in a direction'which is longitudinal withrespect'to the press. By such construction, the possibility of gaps between the elements through which pulp sheets might be pushed if the adjacent services of neighboring elements were vertical, is eliminated. The plate-spacing load-aligning devices of Fig. 7 and Fig. 6 are readily applicable to old as well as modern types of steeping presses.

As a further important feature of the invention, Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate a receiver or pallet 42 which is removable from the steeping chamber of the press by a mobile lifting unit 44. A pair of horizontal arms 45 of the mobile unit 44 extending from its elevator 46 may be moved into the channels 48 of the holder 42. The channels 48 are disposed, as shown, in lateral offset relationship with the portion of the receiver 42 which receives the compressed load of pulp material and plates. These channels extend, when the receiver is positioned in the steeping chamber, from an upright portion of the receiver in a generally horizontal direction from the region overlying the steeping chamber. By operation of the elevator 46, the receiver 42' along with aload of pressed material contained therein may be lifted from the press and carried to any desired point for unloading of the receiver. The upper surface of the floor 50 of the receiver extends approximately in a plane with the upper surface of the false bottom 51' which extends longitudi nally alongthe remaining portion of the bottom surface of the press chamber. The floor 50 aswell as the false bottom 51 is preferably perforated to permit escape of liquid during a pressing operation. When the holder or receiver 42 is positioned within the press, there should be little clearance between abutting ends of the floor 50 and the false bottom 51 so that pulp sheets loaded into the press immediately over the abutting ends do not drop into the clearance, A permanently transversely mounted spacer block 52 overlaps the end of the false bottom 51 and supports and aligns the end of the floor 50 when the receiver or pallet 42 is placed into the press.

During operation of the press, material and the press plates are compressed into the mass shown in Fig. 2, which at the end of the platen stroke is entirely supported within the receiver 42. At the end of the compression stroke, the platen 26 occupies a position shown in broken outline 26a. Shortly thereafter, however, the ram or platen is retracted to a position in which it is supported over the false bottom 51 in the clear of any portion of the floor 50 of the receiver. At this juncture, a hoist member or rod 54 supported above the receiver 42 on two cables of a Windlass 55 is lowered and swung into engagement with hooks 57 extending from the middle of the upper edges of the plates 15. All of the plates 15 when thus attached to the rod 54, may be lifted simultaneously from the pressed pulp material by operation of a motor 59 for driving the Windlass. The Windlass may be controlled from a cable supported button switch 60 by an operator standing beside the press who may at the same time manually restrain any sheets of the press material from falling" or tipping sidewise toward the ram 26. As the plates 15 are removed from the material, the operator leans the pulp sheets with the-top edges thereof inclined toward the wall 62 ofthe pallet 42. Thereafter the receiver or pallet with pulp supported thereon may be removed by means such as the mobile lifting machine 44. This arrangement for removing the pressed material may be applied advantageously in remodeling presses of the type which do not have retractable end walls.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a steeping press having a movable platen and a flat load-supporting floor, rigid plate members for separating a load into portions, a plurality of holding elements for spacing the plate members apart along a direction parallel to the direction of movement of the platen, means for supporting the holding elements for independent movement into and out of engagement with the respective plate members along parallel paths extending transversely with respect to the direction of movement of the platen, all of said holding elements being aligned in their respective member-holding positions along one side of the interior of the press and having surfaces facing the opposite interior side of the press uniformly spaced from said side to predetermine the position of the load with respect to the sides of the press, and means for simultaneously moving all of the holding elements out of engagement with the plate members and the load.

2. In a steeping press having a movable platen and a flat load-supporting floor, rigid plate members for separating a load into portions, a plurality of holding elements for spacing the members apart along a direction parallel to the direction of movement of the platen, said holding elements being pivotably secured to the press and independently rotatable into engagement with the respective plate members, all of said holding elements being disposed along one side of the interior of the press when they engage the plate members and having surfaces facing the opposite interior side of the press uniformly spaced therefrom to predetermine the position of the load laterally with respect to the direction of movement of the platen, and means for simultaneously rotating all of the holding elements out of engagement with the plate members and the load.

3. In a steeping press having a movable platen and a flat load-supporting floor, rigid plate members for separating a load into portions, a plurality of elements extending into a direction parallel to the direction of movement of the platen and presenting interrupted aligned surfaces against which the load may be laterally positioned, said elements having vertical slots spaced in accordance with a desired spacing of the plate members, each slot being of sufficient width to receive the edge of a platen member, said elements being independently swingable into and out of engagement with the plate members and the load about a pivotal axis extending in a direction approximately parallel to the direction of movement of the platen, and means for simultaneously rotating all of the elements out of engagement with the plate members and the load.

4. Apparatus for spacing the separator plates of a steeping press comprising a shaft rotatably supported along an exterior surface of the press in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of a movable platen, spaced pins extending radially from the surface of the shaft, and holding elements each having a portion for fitting over the edge of a separator plate whereby movement of the separator plate in a direction parallel to the movement of the platen is prevented, said holding elements each having a hub portion rotatably and concentrically mounted on a longitudinal section of the shaft which supports a pin, said hub portion having an arcuate slot of sufficient width to permit movement of the pin therewithin and of sufficient length to permit rotation of the holding element from a position wherein it is supported by the pin to the position wherein the holding element engages a separator plate without rotation of the shaft.

5. Apparatus for spacing separator plates and aligning sheets of material to be treated in a steeping press provided with a movable platen comprising a shaft rotatably supported along an exterior surface of the press in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of the platen, a plurality of elements having substantially vertically disposed sheet-engaging side surfaces extending end to end within the press adjacent the region occupied by the sheets of material and aligned in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of the platen, said sheet-engaging surfaces having vertical slots spaced in accordance with the desired spacing of the separator plates and each slot being of suflicient width to receive the edge of a separator plate, a swingable arm which is pivotable about the shaft for supporting each element, and means for limiting the rotation of the arm and the element attached thereto relative to the shaft to an angle through which the center of gravity of each arm and element may be positioned on the side of a vertical plane containing the axis of the shaft opposite to the region traversed by the platen and whereby the element may be rotated into engagement with the separator plates and sheets of material Without rotation of the shaft.

6. Apparatus for spacing separator plates and aligning the sheets to be treated in a steeping press provided with a movable platen comprising a shaft rotatably supported along an exterior surface of the press in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of the platen, spaced pins extending radially from the surface of the shaft, a plurality of elements having substantially vertically disposed sheet-engaging side surfaces extending end to end within the press adjacent the region occupied by the sheets and aligned in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of the platen, said sheet-engaging surfaces having vertical slots spaced in accordance with a desired spacing of the separator plates and each slot being of sufiicient width to receive the edge of a plate, and a swingable arm for supporting each element having a hub portion rotatably supported on the shaft about which the arm and the element is pivotable, said hub portion having an arcuate slot of suflicient width to permit movement of a pin therewithin and of sufficient length to permit swinging of the element out of engagement with the sheets and separator plate with out rotation of the shaft.

7. Apparatus as in claim 6 wherein the arcuate slot extends through at least a major circumferential portion of the hub.

8. Apparatus as in claim 6 wherein the adjacent elements having complementary abutting edges formed on a bias with the edges of the separator plates.

9. Apparatus as in claim 6 wherein each element has a single separate plate-retaining slot and the abutting edges of adjacent elements are complementary and extend in a direction on a bias with the edges of the separator plates.

10. Apparatus as in claim 6 wherein the axis of the shaft lies in a plane parallel to the direction of movement of the platen and extending through the lower edges of sheetengaging surfaces when in engagement with the sheets and extending perpendicularly to a surface formed by the edges of the sheets which engage the elements.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein the axis of the shaft is perpendicular to the sheet engaging surfaces of said plural elements and extends generally horizontally at an elevation at or below the lower edges of the sheet engaging surface.

12. In combination With a steeping press having a horizontally movable platen, a normally stationary flat loadsupporting floor and a plurality of separator plates supported in substantially vertical and transverse alignment with respect to the direction of movement of the platen apparatus comprising a shaft rotatably supported along an exterior surface of the press and extending in a direc- 7 tion parallel to the direction of movement of the platen, spaced pins eXte'ndin'g radially from the surface of the shaft, and holding elements for engaging the plates and restraining their movement in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of the platen, said holding elements each having a hub portion rotatably and concentrically mounted on a longitudinal section of the shaft which supports'one of said pins, said hub portion having an arcuate slot of sufiicient width to permit movement of the pin therewithin and of snfiicient length to obtain disengagement of the holding element from a plate held thereby.

13. In a steeping press having a movable platen and a flat load-supporting floor, rigid plate members for separating a load into portions; a plurality of holding elements for spacing the plate members apart along a direction parallel to the direction of movement of the platen, said holding elements being pivotably secured to the press and independently rotatable into engagement with the respective plate members, all of said holding elements being disposed along one side of the interior of the press when engaging the plate members and having surfaces facing theopposite interior side of the press-and uniformly spaced therefrom to predetermine the position of the load laterally with respect to the direction of movement of the platen, and means for simultaneously disengaging all of the holding elements from the plate members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 631,285 Euston Aug. 22, 1899 631,286 Euston Aug. 22, 1899 1,263,662 Grothe Apr. 23, 1918 1,690,894 Dutzmann Nov. 6, 1928 1,696,474 Dutzmann Dec. 25, 1928 2,178,416 Bausman Oct. 31, 1939' FOREIGN PATENTS 190,354 Germany Oct. 25, 1907 408,398 italy Dec. 29, 1944 

